Watch out for the new wave of iPhone hackers

Relying so heavily on technology comes at a price and this morning the Telegraph is reporting that hackers have found a new way to shut down iPhones and iPads.

Researchers have found that there is a method to remotely break an iPhone or iPad connected to a Wi-Fi network, by tricking it into believing that the date is January 1, 1970. Hackers on the internet have been claiming that setting the date to this would allow users to get a retro theme for their iPhone or iPad, when in fact changing the date would cause the iPhone to refuse a reboot, for instance when an update is available.

The way it works is simple really. When iPads connect to a Wi-Fi network, they automatically draw the time and date from various network time protocol (NTP) servers from across the globe. Researchers Matt Harrigan of PacketSled and Patrick Kelley of CriticalAssets.com created their own hostile time server to test out this new hacking method and found that it caused devices brought within range to reset their time, and therefore refuse to reboot. The process is slightly more complicated to replicate on an iPhone, but it is still possible to remotely break one via Wi-Fi too.

This latest hacking developments come after a string of ways has hit users over the years. Last year we saw iPhones shut down when the 'effective power' string of Arabic text would crash an iPhone if it received it and before this iPhone 6 users who had their touchscreens replaced by third parties were hit by the 'Error 53' message which in turn disabled an iPhone if Touch ID has been tampered with.

The best way for you to avoid having your device tampered with is to only trust secure wi-fi networks that rely upon a password. That way you can dodge the dreaded January 1, 1970 date and your device will run smoothly. Apple is advising that users also update their devices to the latest software (iOS 9.3.1).